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Thursday, July 19, 2012

The Winds of Change…

What a month!

Just a month ago, we were worried about the European Crisis. Well, memories are short and guess what, we are in the middle of a bull run again. The Straits Times Index has crossed the 3000 mark and there is an air of cautious optimism. The ASEAN region is in play and international funds are looking at this region with new perspectives. For those of you who bought over the last couple of months, what I advised you to buy has gone up. Kudos to you, the people with the courage to make a move. I bumped to Daren this afternoon and he thanked me for highlighting value buys in this climate. I am certainly encouraged by his sincere thanks.

Developers seem to be launching new projects at a fast and furious pace. The number of residential launches is rather amazing, all you have to do is look at Saturday’s newspapers and you will be overwhelmed. The number of mass market units launched has reached a stampede level. All these developments have me worried. With record low interest rates, a new class of buyers has emerged. They are the group who can afford the lower monthly payments due the low interest rates. However, should interest rate move north, they will certainly be in trouble. I am worried even though I do not foresee a downturn in prices as I don’t see a bubble forming. However, I will not be rushing to buy a mass market condominium any time soon.

I had received many congratulatory messages from people in the real estate industry. They like our real estate investment strategies and I am sincerely flattered. These industry veterans have validated us and I am encouraged to share more. For this reason, I have consented to teach a few more classes to share with you how we invest in real estate. Tiring as it may be, I hope I am able to share such knowledge. More details will be revealed soon.

Hi Guys! I am writing to you from the air again. This time I am on the way back from the Land of the Rising Sun. I cannot feel but a little ...

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Andy OngFounder of ERC Holdings

Andy Ong Siew Kwee currently serves as the Founder of ERC Holdings. Under his leadership, the parent group has since established strong foothold in four business silos namely education ERC Institute , hospitality, training and property investment within two decades.

Ong is a strong believer in enabling startups and young brands reach their potential. Together with a group of partners, he founded the Entrepreneur’s Resource Centre (ERC) to help budding entrepreneurs transform their business ideas into sustainable models.

The recent venture into a co-working space; BIGWork , an ideation incubator lab; BIGFund and an immersive startup fitness concept; BIGFitness is a testament to Ong’s vision of staying at the forefront of innovation.

In the fashion of undying entrepreneurial spirit, Ong also pursued opportunities out of the education and training space. The BIGHotel was set up in 2013, and was later sold in a multi-million dollar deal.

To date, Ong has built a strong portfolio in a wide range of industries; he is the owner of several businesses in education, training, print media and property investments with a combined annual turnover of $200 million.

A multi-faceted talent, Ong is an author and a seasoned property investor too.

Ong has been featured on major media outlets such as CNBC, Bloomberg and The Straits Times.